Storage racks

ABSTRACT

Storage racks which include fore-and-aft aligned upright trusses extending upward from the floor, having a pair of parallel vertical members and a plurality of spacers extending therebetween. The rear vertical truss member extends to the floor and a bottom member located adjacent the floor extends forward from the lower end of the rear vertical member. The front vertical truss member terminates short of the floor and a diagonal member extends between the lower end of the front vertical member and the bottom member. Parallel vertical columns spaced laterally of the truss define a storage bay therebetween. The recessing at the front of the truss provides maneuvering room for lift trucks and thereby reduces the width requirements for service aisles.

United States atent Konstant [54] STORAGE RACKS [72] Inventor: Anthony N. Konstant, Mt. Prospect, Ill. [73] Assignee: Speedrack Inc., Skokie, 111.

[22] Filed: Aug. 26, 1970 [21] Appl. No.: 67,124

FORElGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS Australia 108/ l 08 1 May 2,1972

Primary Examiner-Nile C. Byers, Jr. Att0rneyAnders0n, Luedeka, Fitch, Even and Tabin [57] ABSTRACT Storage racks which include fore-and-aft aligned upright trusses extending upward from the floor, having a pair of parallel vertical members and a plurality of spacers extending therebetween. The rear vertical truss member extends to the floor and a bottom member located adjacent the floor extends forward from the lower end of the rear vertical member. The from vertical truss member terminates short of the floor and a diagonal member extends between the lower end of the front vertical member and the bottom member. Parallel vertical columns spaced laterally of the truss define a storage bay therebetween. The recessing at the front of the truss provides maneuvering room for lift trucks and thereby reduces the width requirements for service aisles.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures STORAGE RACKS This invention relates to storage racks and more particularly to improved versions of storage racks designed for the high density storage of goods delivered to the storage regions by power-driven lift equipment.

In the past years or so, the advancing design of new and improved storage racks and storage systems has revolutionized many aspects of the warehousing industry. There are numerous advantages to the efficient storage of goods in an orderly fashion upon rack structures, rather than stacked one atop another on individual pallets piled on the floor. One example of such an improved storage rack is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,932,368, issued on Apr. 12, 1960 to Burt E. Schell, Jr., which discloses a selective type storage rack wherein the storage configuration can be easily altered to change the heights of the tiers in the storage bays as a result of the employment of an improved structural lock for connecting the horizontal beams to the vertical columns of the rack. Another improved storage rack is the drive-in storage rack shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,963,169 issued on Dec. 6, 1960 to Anthony N. Xonstant, which is designed to permit pallet storage of goods several bays deep and several tiers high serviced from a central aisle. Inasmuch as the aisle space through which goods are supplied to the storage rack structures is usually unavailable for storage, the aisle space subtracts from the practically available storage space in a warehouse configuration. lmproved versions of storage rack structures are always desirable.

It is an object of the invention to provide improved storage rack structures designed for service with power-driven lift equipment. Another object of the invention is to provide storage rack structures which as a result of their improved design can be used with narrower aisles between adjacent racks. A further object of the invention is to provide improved storage rack structures which are less susceptible to damage when being supplied with goods via power-driven lift equipment.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of storage rack structures embodying various features of the invention when read in combination with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of a storage rack structure embodying various features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation view taken generally along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view, reduced in size, of an alternative embodiment of a portion of the storage rack structure illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a drive-in storage rack embodying various features of the invention.

Very generally, storage rack structures, including those of the types illustrated in the aforementioned U.S. patents, are usually constructed of individual truss sections which are suitably structurally interconnected with one another so as to provide a three-dimensional storage matrix. It has been found that by constructing the truss sections which border the service aisles between facing storage rack arrangements in a manner to recess the front bottom portions thereof, narrower service aisles can be tolerated.

Illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is an improved version of a selective-type storage rack 11 of the general type disclosed in aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,932,368. The illustrated selective storage rack structure 11 is one which is sometimes termed a case goods picking rack because it is designed to facilitate flow of the goods through the storage rack bays so that the movement of the case goods is on a first in-first out basis. This type of structure is advantageously employed, for example, in warehousing operations for foods and other similar types of material having limited shelf life.

The installation has a number of parallel storage arrays each of which include a number of side-by-side bays (as shown in FIG. 2). The bays may have any desired depth, and each array may extend for any distance desired, which distance may likely be a major dimension of the length of the warehouse facility. As seen in FIG. 1, each selective storage rack array 13 is separated on the front side thereof from the next adjacent array by a service aisle I7 and on the rear side thereof by suitable conveying means 19. In the illustrated arrangement, case goods, preferably in palletized form if desired, are delivered to the front of each storage bay 15 by power-driven lift equipment, such as the straddle truck 53 that is illustrated or, for example, a counterweighted truck. As the goods stored is needed, it is manually removed from the storage bays 15 and loaded onto the longitudinal conveyors 19 for transfer to the desired receiving location. In the illustrated installation, a plurality of superimposed conveyors 19 are generally located above floor level, depending upon the height of the overall storage structure. Reserve pallet storage is established in the floor level storage bays 15.

Referring now to the details of the illustrated rack construction, the selective racks 11 are made up of a plurality of vertical trusses 21 which are interconnected by horizontal beams 23 to form the longitudinally extending storage rack arrays 13. As can be seen in FIG. 2, an individual storage bay 15 is defined between each adjacent pair of trusses 21. Each of the vertical trusses 21 includes a pair of vertical members or columns 25,27. The front column 25 is shorter than the rear column 27 for a purpose described hereinafter. As is shown in FIG. 2, the vertical columns 25,27 have patterns of holes spaced at vertical levels, and it is via these holes that the interconnection is made between the trusses 21 and the horizontal beams 23 using suitable structural locks 29. The illustrated structural locks 29 include angle iron slotted brackets which are afiixed to both ends of the beams 23 and which are connected via removable locking pins that are inserted through the hole patterns in the columns at the desired vertical levels. The illustrated structural locks 29 are described in detail in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,932,368.

As best seen in FIG. 1, each storage bay includes a number of superposed storage tiers each of which is defined by a pair of beams 23 extending respectively between the front columns 25 and between the rear columns 25 of adjacent trusses 21. It can be seen that the front beam of each tier-defining pair of beams 23 is attached to the front truss columns 27 at a vertical level slightly higher than the beam attached to the rear columns 25 of the same two trusses 21. In the illustrated embodiment, two side-by-side roller conveyor sections 31 are supported between these front and rear beams for each storage tier, which roller conveyor sections have a length substantially equal to the depth of the storage bay 15. Thus, it can be seen that pallets of case goods loaded into the storage array at the front entrances to the bays 15 will be gravity fed to the rear of the bay adjacent the longitudinal conveyors l9. Suitable stops 33, as illustrated in dotted outline in FIG. 1, are provided adjacent the rear end of each conveyor section 31 to prevent the pallet from moving therepast along the surface of the conveyor.

As can also be seen in FIG. 1, adjacent pairs of storage arrays 13 are interconnected via horizontal connecting members 35 which double as supports for the receiving conveyors 19. These horizontal connectors also support longitudinally extending walkways 37 which are located in flanking relation to each of the conveyors. The walkways 37 provide platforms along which workers may walk in proceeding from storage bay to storage bay, manually removing the case goods desired and placing it upon the receiving conveyor 19.

The illustrated trusses 21, in addition to including the aforementioned front and rear vertical columns 25 and 27 also include a plurality of spacers 39 which extend between and are suitably affixed, as by welding, to the front and rear columns. These spacers define the depth of the storage bays 15. Connected to the bottom of the front column 27 is a diagonal member 41 which extends to the floor and angles toward the rear column member. A short bottom member 43 extends between and is afiixed to the lower end of the rear column 25 and the lower end of the diagonal member 41. Both diagonal member 41 and the bottom member 43 are preferably channels having flanges set sufiiciently far apart to span the width and Hank the exterior surfaces of the columns 25,27. Such use of channels provides adequate load-bearing strength and facilitates welded interconnection in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2.

A shorter spacer 45 extends horizontally between and is rigidly affixed to the rear column 25 and the diagonal member 41 at a location near midpoint of the diagonal member. In the illustrated embodiment as shown in FIG. 1, X-bracing 47 is employed at suitable locations between adjacent horizontal spacers 39. Single inclined braces are employed in the lower portion of each truss 21. One brace 49 extends from the point of intersection between the lowermost spacer 39 and the rear column 25 to the point of intersection between the diagonal member 41 and the short spacer 45. Another inclined brace 51 is located therebelow, extending from the point of intersection of the short spacer 45 and the diagonal member 41 to the intersection of the rear vertical column 25 and the bottom member 43. The bracing pattern illustrated provides trusses 21 which exhibits good rigidity and are extremely resistant to racking.

As is best seen in FIG. I, the incorporation of the diagonal member 41 in the truss structure 21 recesses the front bottom portion of the truss at a very important location. The provision of these recesses permits an overall warehouse configuration to be designed with narrower aisles 17 between adjacent storage arrays 13 as a result of the additional space which is made available through this recessing. Illustrated in FIG. I is a straddle-type truck 53 of the type designed for use with double-faced pallets 55. This type of truck is capable of operating in fairly narrow aisles as a result of its fairly short length and its tight turning arc.

As can be seen, the base portion of the straddle truck 53 extends laterally outward of the double-face pallet 55 which it handles. However, when the truck reaches the desired bay and the load is raised, clearance for the entry of the base extensions of the straddle truck 53 is provided in regions which are vertically within the confines of the storage rack arrays 13 as a result of the truss recessing. Accordingly, the straddle truck can be turned 90 and maneuvered into position to deposit its load upon the conveyor sections 31 in the desired storage bay 15 when only relatively narrow service aisles 17 are provided between storage rack structures 11. As a result, in an overall warehouse situation where the saving in the width of each aisle 17 is multiplied by the total number of aisles, a significant increase in storage capacity may be effected within the same area.

In addition to potentially significantly increasing the storage capacity of a given type of warehouse installation, the improved storage rack structures 11 incorporating the recessed trusses 21 require less maintenance and are correspondingly expected to have a longer useful life. In this respect, when power-driven lift equipment is operated on a daily basis in relatively narrow confines of service aisles, it must be expected that there will be occasions when the operator will carelessly strike the storage rack columns while driving or backing the lift equipment. Because of the anticipated day-today pounding that it is likely such columns would receive, it has been common to increase the weight of the column that normally would be employed from merely a load-bearing standpoint. The added steel strength of course adds to the construction cost, and recessing of the trusses in the regions bordering the aisles where lift equipment will be operated avoids such potential collisions and obviates any requirement for employing heavier columns. In addition, the greater freedom of movement which the recessed trusses 21 provide may also result in an increase in the speed at which a lift equipment operator can accomplish his work.

Illustrated in FIG. 3 is an alternative embodiment of a truss which may be used in the storage rack structure 11 wherein prime numbers are used to refer to similar components. The truss 21' is generally similar to the truss 21 in that it includes front and rear vertical columns 25', 27' and horizontal spacers 39' and 45. The truss 21' also includes a pair of bracing members 49' and 51. However, instead of terminating the bottom member 43 at the point of intersection with the diagonal member 41', the truss 21 is provided with a bottom member 43 which extends slightly forward thereof. The employment of a longer bottom member 43 provides the storage rack structure using the truss 21' with slightly more stability in a fore-and-aft direction without significantly detracting from the advantages of ,the recessed structure and can also be used to provide a floor guide for the straddle trucks. Although the bottom member 43 extends slightly forward of the lower end of the diagonal member 41' along the floor level itself, there is still a significant set-back provided from the front edge of the storage bay, and the amount of recess above the floor level remains substantially unaffected.

Although various storage rack structures may be created with different amounts of recess built thereinto, depending in part upon the particular lift equipment which it is intended to employ to deliver the goods to be stored to the bays, it is preferred that the vertical distance above the floor where the diagonal member 41 begins is greater than the width of the truss 21, i.e., the fore-and-aft spacing provided by the spacers 39. Additionally, it is preferred that the diagonal member 41 be disposed at an angle of at least about 20 with the vertical, as exemplified by the angle A depicted in FIG. 1. Employing these criteria, it has been found that storage rack trusses 21 can be constructed which are fully adequate in load-bearing strength while providing the substantial advantages that flow from the recessing of the lower portion of the front vertical column.

Illustrated in FIG. 4 is a drive-in storage rack 61 of the general type of that shown in aforementioned US. Pat. No. 2,963,169. The illustrated drive-in rack structure 61 includes a plurality of truss members which are aligned in the fore-andaft direction. In the illustrated embodiment, airs of these trusses are aligned with each other to provide what are termed, for reference purposes, forward trusses 63 and rearward trusses 65. The pairs of trusses are spaced apart a distance slightly wider than the width of the standard pallet in order to provide storage bays 67 therebetween. Each pair of aligned trusses are interconnected by fore-and-aft extending rails 69 which are suitably attached thereto by mounting brackets 71. The rails 69 are located at the same vertical height on adjacent trusses and extend into the storage bays 67 to a distance less than the width of the standard pallet. Accordingly, the rails 69 provide for the support of palletized goods in several superposed tiers throughout the depth of each storage bay 67. A suitable rear fence structure 73 interconnects the aligned pairs of truss members in a lateral direction and provides rigidity in the overall storage rack structure 61. The rear fence structure 73 should be understood to include uprights and crossbracing not shown in FIG. 4, but which is illustrated and described in detail in US. Pat. No. 2,963,169.

The rearwardmost truss 65 in each aligned pair includes a pair of columns 75 which are generally coextensive in height, and this truss is constructed in the general manner illustrated in US. Pat. No. 2,963,169. The forward truss 63 of each pair is constructed in accordance with the present invention, and it includes a rear column 77 which has a length greater than a front column 79. A diagonal member 81 extends rearward from the bottom of the front column 79, and a horizontal bottom spacer 83 is suitably affixed, as by welding, at both ends of its ends to the rear column 77 and the diagonal member 81 at locations near the respective lower ends thereof. Horizontal spacers 85 are provided at an upper location between the front and rear columns in each truss; however, the main crossbracing in the trusses 63 is provided in the illustrated structure via X-bracing 87 which is disposed at several vertical levels. Additionally, inclined braces 89 are provided extending from the rear column 77 downward to a point on the lower half of the diagonal member 81.

The recessed front trusses 63 incorporated into the drive-in storage rack structure 61 provide this structure with generally the same advantages as mentioned before with respect to the selective storage rack structure 11. The lateral service aisle that is provided between the illustrated rack structure 61 and a facing similar rack structure has narrower width requirements than it would have in a drive-in rack structure constructed with forward truss members having the same construction as the illustrated rearward truss members 65. Likewise, the recessing locates the diagonal members 81 at the forward edge of the rack adjacent the service aisle where the substantial additional clearance provided reduces the possibility of damage to the trusses by careless operation of power-driven lift equipment.

Various of the features of the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A storage rack for service with power-driven lift equipment comprising an upright truss designed to be supported upon and extend upward from a floor, said truss including a pair of parallel vertical members and a plurality of spacers extending therebetween and affixed thereto which space said vertical members a desired horizontal distance apart, said truss being located in a plane extending fore-and-aft with respect to the direction in which goods are supplied to said storage rack, with the rear vertical member extending to the floor and the front vertical member terminating substantially short of the floor, said truss including a bottom member located adjacent the floor which is affixed near the lower end of said rear vertical member and extends forward therefrom, and also including a diagonal member extending between and affixed to the lower end of said front vertical member and to said bottom member, said truss further including at least one rigid brace extending between and affixed to said rear vertical member and to said diagonal member, and said front vertical truss member terminating a distance above the floor level greater than the fore-and-aft spacing between said vertical members, a pair of parallel vertical columns spaced laterally of said truss vertical members to define a storage bay therebetween, and means interconnecting said columns and said truss to maintain said lateral spacing which defines the storage bay.

2. A storage rack in accordance with claim 1 wherein the angle between said diagonal member and said front vertical truss member is at least about 20.

3. A storage rack in accordance with claim 1 wherein said bottom truss member is designed to rest on the floor.

4. A storage rack in accordance with claim 3 wherein said bottom truss member and said diagonal member are upwardly open channels having the same distance between flanges.

5. A storage rack in accordance with claim 3 wherein said bottom truss member extends forward of its point of junction With said diagonal member.

6. A storage rack for service with power-driven lift equipment and adapted for storing a plurality of superposed merchandise loads including a plurality of vertical uprights arranged in at least two fore-and-aft extending rows, said rows of uprights being laterally spaced apart to define a storage bay between adjacent rows, load-supporting horizontal members connected to and supported by said uprights, at least the forwardmost two uprights in one of said rows being rigidly interconnected to form an upright truss in which the rear upright extends to the floor and the front upright terminating substantiaily short of the floor, said truss including a bottom member located adjacent the floor which is affixed near the lower end of said rear upright and extends forward therefrom and also including a diagonal member extending between and affixed to the lower end of said front upright and said bottom member, said truss further including rigid bracing means affixed to and extending between said rear upright and said front upright and between said rear upright and said diagonal member and said front vertical truss member terminating a distance above the floor level greater than the fore-and-aft spacing between said vertical members. I p

7. A storage rack in accordance with claim 6 wherein the angle between said diagonal member and said front vertical truss member is at least about 20. 

1. A storage rack for service with power-driven lift equipment comprising an upright truss designed to be supported upon and extend upward from a floor, said truss including a pair of parallel vertical members and a plurality of spacers extending therebetween and affixed thereto which space said vertical members a desired horizontal distance apart, said truss being located in a plane extending fore-and-aft with respect to the direction in which goods are supplied to said storage rack, with the rear vertical member extending to the floor and the front vertical member terminating subsTantially short of the floor, said truss including a bottom member located adjacent the floor which is affixed near the lower end of said rear vertical member and extends forward therefrom, and also including a diagonal member extending between and affixed to the lower end of said front vertical member and to said bottom member, said truss further including at least one rigid brace extending between and affixed to said rear vertical member and to said diagonal member, and said front vertical truss member terminating a distance above the floor level greater than the fore-and-aft spacing between said vertical members, a pair of parallel vertical columns spaced laterally of said truss vertical members to define a storage bay therebetween, and means interconnecting said columns and said truss to maintain said lateral spacing which defines the storage bay.
 2. A storage rack in accordance with claim 1 wherein the angle between said diagonal member and said front vertical truss member is at least about 20*.
 3. A storage rack in accordance with claim 1 wherein said bottom truss member is designed to rest on the floor.
 4. A storage rack in accordance with claim 3 wherein said bottom truss member and said diagonal member are upwardly open channels having the same distance between flanges.
 5. A storage rack in accordance with claim 3 wherein said bottom truss member extends forward of its point of junction with said diagonal member.
 6. A storage rack for service with power-driven lift equipment and adapted for storing a plurality of superposed merchandise loads including a plurality of vertical uprights arranged in at least two fore-and-aft extending rows, said rows of uprights being laterally spaced apart to define a storage bay between adjacent rows, load-supporting horizontal members connected to and supported by said uprights, at least the forwardmost two uprights in one of said rows being rigidly interconnected to form an upright truss in which the rear upright extends to the floor and the front upright terminating substantially short of the floor, said truss including a bottom member located adjacent the floor which is affixed near the lower end of said rear upright and extends forward therefrom and also including a diagonal member extending between and affixed to the lower end of said front upright and said bottom member, said truss further including rigid bracing means affixed to and extending between said rear upright and said front upright and between said rear upright and said diagonal member and said front vertical truss member terminating a distance above the floor level greater than the fore-and-aft spacing between said vertical members.
 7. A storage rack in accordance with claim 6 wherein the angle between said diagonal member and said front vertical truss member is at least about 20*. 